


the fog has settled

by Tododorky



Series: the ebb and flow of your heart [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Also gonna get some backstory out of both of them so, I CAN STOP REFERRING TO YUURI AS A STRANGER WOOHOO, M/M, Some mild spicey, WE GONNA GET SOMEWHERE, cause viktor is a huge tease, important chapter!, no benches eyy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-13 05:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10507044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tododorky/pseuds/Tododorky
Summary: Viktor's 2nd attempt to get to know cute aquarium visitor.





	

"You see him? Where is he, what's he doing?" Viktor was pressed himself against the wall, next to the opening of the cafeteria and whispered into his phone.

  
“The same thing he’s always doing, Viktor: Working in that sketchbook of his.” Mila held her phone close to her ear with her shoulder as she fished through her wallet for exact change to give the cashier. “Listen, if you’re gonna embarrass yourself again, I don’t wanna be around to see it.”

"Are there headphones within the area?"

“Not that I’m seeing, no.” He could hear her getting closer, but still jumped when Mila came around the corner, making Viktor flail around to catch his phone. “What on earth are you planning, Viktor?” Mila sounded exasperated, watching the older man collect himself.

“I’m just going to talk to him. Why else would I go out of my way to make sure he’s approachable right now?” Viktor adjusted the cream sweater that stopped just over his hips and pulled his jeans up that shaped his sculpted legs perfectly.

 

“Um..no, you’re gonna go and make that poor guy file sexual harassment charges against you. Emphasis on-”

“Sexual?” Viktor winked at Mila, which seemed to get her even more upset.

“ _Harassment._ I’ll just be downstairs getting the paperwork filled out.”  
  
Passing Mila, Viktor made his way to Yuuri, who was sitting at a table for two next to a wide window that overlooked the serene blue bay. He made sure his walk was calm just as before, but he was filled with new resolve. With the cafeteria being an extremely well lit area, he was thankful for being able to see Yuuri clearly and up close. To Viktor’s surprise, he didn’t look up once Viktor stood next to his table. _‘He’s really in his own little bubble, huh,’_ He pondered, waving his hand around Yuuri wildly. No response.

He opened his mouth to say something to Yuuri, but found no sounds would come out.

 

_‘Am I still nervous?! No, dammit come on! Scrape yourself off the floor and make up the terrible introduction-if that’s what you could call what happened last time, when he outright ignored me-’_

  
“Excuse me,” Viktor forced out, it sounded a bit louder than what he would’ve preferred, but it was enough to get the other man’s attention. Yuuri turned to look up at Viktor with surprise, as if noticing the man’s presence for the first time.

Yuuri gave a small smile back as he responded, “Hello, could I help you with something?” He had closed the sketchbook and put down his pencil, stuffing his hands between his thighs as he waited for Viktor’s response.

“O-oh, I was just-” Viktor felt as though his throat was closing up just by finally hearing Yuuri’s voice and having his direct attention. “Hello! I couldn’t help but notice you were drawing something, I got too curious: would it be alright if I saw what you were working on?”

A slight blush bloomed onto Yuuri’s cheeks as he nodded and flipped a few pages- stopping to see if he had found the right page once or twice- opened up the sketchbook and set it on the table, pushing it gingerly toward Viktor for him to see it.

  
Viktor almost regretted asking.

  
The more Viktor stared at the sketch, the more he felt his skin crawl and stomach turn in disgust.  
  
‘ _I_ _t’s an absolute disgrace, it’s appalling..’_  
  
Yuuri felt a chill run down his spine under the man’s gaze. “I-is it not..good?”

  
Almost forgetting Yuuri was there, Viktor lowered his head to hide whatever expression he was making, feet feeling as though they were made of lead. Once he wobbled to the seat across from Yuuri, he slumped down into it and collected himself. When he felt he was ready, Viktor looked up back at Yuuri. “How well can you handle criticism?” Viktor smiled, voice sounding bubbly, but the question made Yuuri flinch.

 

“I would..very much value your opinion, mister…” Yuuri gestured to the man that sat across from him.

“Nikiforov, but please, call me Viktor. Now, based off of this... _piece_ you have here, I’m going to assume one of the first fish you have a bit of a soft spot for is the sea otters, correct?”

Like a withered plant drawn to the sun, Yuuri lurched toward Viktor excitedly. “Yes, actually! They’re adorable, aren’t they?”

“They are! Which are your favorites?”

 

This puzzled Yuuri momentarily.

 

“Which..otter is my favorite?” Yuuri strained out, mind racing as to what the implications of the question may be. “You mean there’s different types of otter? In this exhibit?”

The silence, along with Viktor’s expression of an unimpressed smile, answered for themselves.

 

“Flagship species. All the animals you included in this drawing are flagship species: the animals that people remember the most, they’re used on postcards, bumper stickers and t-shirts. Organizations use them as bait to collect money, and once they have it, distribute funds to the endangered animals that need it most. One would’ve thought you just picked and choosed the cutest ones from browsing the gift shop.” Viktor’s tone was even and cool, but the rigidness of the words had Yuuri feeling as though he was being looked down upon.

His eyebrows furrowed and nose scrunched up enough to move his glasses slightly. “Since you seem to like asking questions, I’d like to ask you a question as well.” Viktor, wearing an amused expression, gestured for Yuuri to continue. “You’ve acquired your extensive knowledge on marine life where exactly? I’m a student, and I’m apparently going to need your references on where you were taught.”

Viktor had found his gaze was lured away momentarily by the pristine calmness of the ocean just outside the window. By now, the morning fog had cleared completely to reveal the stretch of the sea out to the mute, overcast horizon. “You could say it was something that comes along with the business. I am the curator of this place, after all.”

 

Yuuri inhaled his coffee upon hearing this and pounded his fist against his chest a few times to clear his throat. “You’re the curator?! Of this place?!” He croaked out in disbelief.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“It’s just that..when you think of a curator you think of, I don’t know- some stout old balding man, with a hoard of stuffy exhibition pieces that are coated with dust, and..”

Viktor leaned back into his chair, his lively and crisp laughter filling the cafeteria, as well as somewhere in Yuuri’s chest. “It _was_ a position held over by an old man, just up until a few years back! Yakov is a family friend, and when my father retired, I was too young to take over this place. So he raised me, put me in school and helped me understand how this aquarium, how the bay all works.”

 

“Well now I just feel silly, I’m only focusing my art on the ocean and the creatures that live in it for the aesthetic of it all.” Yuuri looked down into his lap in embarrassment, pushing his glasses up with the back of his hand.

“No, I’ve been pretty unmerciful to you. Please understand, this aquarium and the creatures that live in it is my father’s life’s work, and now it is my own as well. I’m overly protective of this place and the creatures that live in it. But I need to ask, if you really do want to learn more about the ocean, why not take classes on it? You mentioned you’re still in school right now.”

“By the time I had to pick my sort of ‘theme’ for my first piece in art, I wasn’t able to sign up for any more classes. I figured if there was any place to learn outside of the classroom, it’d be experiencing it firsthand, behind glass. Guess it wasn’t working though, right?” Yuuri shrugged.

 

Viktor brought a finger to his lips in thought. “I wouldn’t be so quick to throw in the towel.”

 

* * *

 

“Back already, I see?” Mila teased Yuuri as he walked by her, sitting behind the Guest Services desk.

“Oh, hello! I guess I am back again, yes,” Yuuri smiled bashfully, recognizing the younger woman from his past visits to the aquarium. “Viktor messaged me, saying right now would be a good time to visit.”

She sat up at this, as though remembering something important. “That’s right, he did say he had something planned this afternoon..” She hopped out from behind her desk and beckoned Yuuri to follow her with a warm smile. “Right this way, please!”

 

Mila and Yuuri had walked not too far from the lobby, and in fact had stopped just in front of a large 4 glass panelled exhibit. The water swayed throughout the exhibit in wavelike patterns, and streams of sunlight shined through the water, causing it to vibrantly glow into a vast spectrum of blue hues. Giant vines of kelp, moving with the tides, clinged to the constructed replica of the ocean floor, their holdfasts keeping them still and various fish peeked their way through the kelp’s wide but thin leaves. “It’s so amazing. You never get tired of this view, do you?”

“It’s hard to just ‘get tired’ over something like this. It’s like live art. This exhibit’s about twenty-eight feet tall, but that kelp proceeds to just grow, grow, grow,” Mila responded, still staring up in amazement.

“Does it ever..stop growing? I’m sure the maintenance for something of this size, let alone the whole aquarium is no small feat.”

Mila put a hand where her neck met her shoulder and rubbed at the area carefully. “At one point, yes, but roughly over a hundred feet is where most kelp in kelp forests has been measured up to-”

Yuuri, in disbelief, finally tore his eyes away from the exhibit to look at Mila for verification. “ _Roughly_ over a hundred?”

 

“Oh, right on schedule; Viktor’s here too,” She gestured idly out in front of her, but Yuuri could see no sign of the older man. It was late enough in the morning that a small crowd had gathered in front of the tank, mostly children, so Yuuri would still see well over their heads.

 

Looking into the water of the exhibit, Yuuri was met with a familiar pair of brilliant blue eyes, in a diving mask on the other side of the glass. He waved to Yuuri happily until a boy began jumping up and down frantically with his hand up. Viktor gave the boy a high five through the glass, and the boy began shouting triumphantly. It was then that Yuuri’s shock finally sank in.

“HE’S IN THE TANK?! HOW?!”

“He technically owns the tank and all the animals inside of it...also the building we’re standing in, so he can do whatever he wants.”  Mila sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

Yuuri watched Viktor gesture up to the top of the tank before swimming upward weaving his way in between hurried fish that swam about.

 

* * *

 

Viktor broke the surface of the water, yanking out his mouthpiece urgently. “Chris, hurry! Pull me up!”

  
“What is it, you get nibbled on?” Chris teased, sprinting off to the edge of the tank and reached for Viktor’s hand, pulling him up and out of the tank.  
  
“Nope, remember that cute guy I saw here, in front of the otter exhibit? He’s here today, and-hey unzip me too, all the way down- now you’ll finally get to meet him!”  
  
Chris stared at Viktor in astonishment as he fluidly slipped his arms out of the diver’s suit, shimmied it off his wide shoulders and pulled the suit down until it hung just barely below his hips, exposing his slim but exceptionally fit figure. Water droplets that managed to cling to Viktor’s skin accented the smooth muscles down his abdomen.  
  
“You must be serious about this boy, Viktor- showing off your assets like this.” Chris purred and admired the view.

  
“I’m telling you, Christophe, he’s different. He’s adorable, sweet, he doesn’t think I’m some weird overly-obsessed animal lover. You know how rare that is?”

  
“He’s a got a little chub on him too, I see,” Chris commented, looking somewhere behind Viktor to see Mila and Yuuri walking out to join them outside.

 

Viktor could see Yuuri visibly jump at the display of Viktor, gawking at much more of him than Yuuri would’ve ever imagined he would see of the older man and altogether, dripping wet in something that presented his figure amazingly.

  
“Yuuri, I’d like you to meet Dr. Giacometti. He’s been here almost as long as I have, and his work mostly resides around animal prosthetics and rehabilitation of wounded animals found in the bay.”

  
“Just Chris or Christophe will be fine, thank you.”

  
“That’s an incredibly commendable effort your work provides, Chris, I’m very honored to meet you.” Yuuri shook Chris’ hand, remembering hearing something on the news about a sea turtle just weeks before found on the beach, struggling to stay alive from a run-in with a boat propellor.

 

“Not at all, it’s all in a day’s work!” Chris smiled delightedly at the praise, Viktor felt himself blush at the indirect praise.

 

“So, are you ready?” Viktor walked right up to Yuuri, leaning into his space so Yuuri’s gaze fell only onto Viktor.

 

Yuuri struggled incredibly to keep his eyes upward. “F-for what?”

“Diving into the tank with me! You mentioned you wanted to experience it firsthand, right?”

 

“But it’s only been a few weeks since you started teaching me, and you never said anything about swimming _with_ the fish!” Yuuri squawked, jumping back from the opening of the exhibit out of fear one wrong step and he’d would’ve found himself in the tank.

  
“Fine, fine. You’re right. The option will always be open for you, of course.” Viktor assured as he reached out and brushed a strand of Yuuri’s hair behind his ear.


End file.
